U.S. court denies Jazz Pharma bid to revive narcolepsy drug patents

(Reuters) – A U.S. appeals court on Friday ruled invalid patents owned by Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC covering its narcolepsy drug Xyrem, giving Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc a boost in its effort to launch a generic version of the medicine.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a series of rulings in favor of Amneal that the Jazz patents described obvious ideas. Shares of Jazz fell 2.5 percent to $175 in morning trading, while Amneal was up 1 percent to $18.50.

Jazz said in a statement it was disappointed in the ruling but that it only involves a “subset” of its patents covering Xyrem.